“My name, your Excellency, is Obadiah Howl-man. I had the distinguished honour, your Excellency, of showing your Excellency over the grounds of the new Mission College. I was the contractor for the erection of that ornament to our little town.” And again the oily creature smirked and bowed and did the invisible soap business.
“Surely you are not a missionary, sir?” asked the Admiral, with undisguised contempt.
“I am not, your Excellency. That is, I am not yet an ordained labourer in the Vineyard, your Excellency; but I hope soon to be one. Meanwhile, all the time that is left to me from my business (I am a storekeeper and contractor) is given to the cause of spreading the Light I was once a lost soul, your——”
“I see, I see,” interrupted the Admiral, with ill-disguised disgust and open impatience, “but do, for Heaven's sake, tell me what is your complaint. I am due in Sydney on the tenth of this month, and the ship is already under way. As it is, we shall have to stop outside the reef to let you get into your boat.”
“I am aware of it, your Excellency, and I should not have ventured to detain you, but this is a very serious matter—I may say, a criminal matter. When I had the honour of meeting your Excellency, on the occasion of your Excellency's visit to the College, I would have spoken of this matter then; but my poor, weak nature was so torn by conflicting emotions that I could not And for the past two nights have I struggled and wrestled in spirit, and sought Divine guidance. 'Tis indeed hard for one man to reveal the sins and wickedness of a fellow-sinner—knowing that we are all but weak vessels. But yet in this case it is my bounden duty as a loyal——”
“Go on—go on, for Heaven's sake! What on earth is the matter? And what the deuce do you want?”
“Your Excellency, I wish, in all sorrow and tribulation of spirit, to give you information as to the whereabouts of a deserter from her Majesty's Navy.”
“What do you mean, sir? None of my men are missing, and if any were, I'd tell the Fijian police about it, and not delay the Hannibal,” and with a curt nod the Admiral turned on his heel and was about to leave the cabin, when the man stepped forward and interrupted him, saying—
“One word more, your Excellency. There is in connection with this case——”
“The reward. Yes, of course. I forgot all about that. If there is a deserter from any of her Majesty's ships living ashore here, you will get the usual reward, I have no doubt. But really, sir, this is a matter that you must arrange with the police when the next man-of-war comes here, or go to the Consul”—and then, sotto voce —“or the devil, confound you!” and the Admiral more than ever felt inclined to kick his visitor out.